Arkansas Governor Expresses Regret Over, Statewide Mask Ban.
On Sunday, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson continued to express regret over his decision to prohibit citizens from protecting themselves against COVID-19.
The Republican governor said that his decision in April 2021 to sign a statewide law banning mask mandates was “an error.”.
Everything has changed now … And yes, in hindsight, I wish that had not become law, Governor Asa Hutchinson, via 'Huffpost'.
Although “cases were low” at the time of his signing, Gov.
Hutchinson acknowledged that the situation has since “roared back” to dangerous levels, due to the delta variant.
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Whenever I signed that law, our cases were low, we were hoping that the whole thing was gone, in terms of the virus, but it roared back with the delta variant, Governor Asa Hutchinson, via 'Huffpost'.
Gov.
Hutchinson went on to say that he has asked the legislature to at least “redo” the portion of the law that extends the ban to school districts.
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I realized that we needed to have more options for our local school districts to protect those children.
And so I asked the legislature to redo the law that prohibited those requirements or those options for the school districts to protect the children, Governor Asa Hutchinson, via 'Huffpost'.
There is currently a temporary block in place on the enforcement of the state’s mask mandate ban in schools.
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Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox made his decision to block the law on August 6, in response to a number of lawsuits filed by parents and a school district.
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He issued the preliminary injunction just shortly after the state’s General Assembly gathered, yet failed to amend the law.
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According to Judge Fox, the law “cannot be enforced in any shape, fashion or form” while the lawsuits continue.